Executive NEU’s March 31st 2022

JGS Report

Covid

• Free testing and the requirement for twice-weekly testing in SEND provision now ending against the background of high and increasing cases

(In Wales ALN provisions staff still required to test daily)

• In regular discussions with the permanent secretary (at the DfE) with other unions and employer bodies, the Union has led on raising concerns about the impact of staff absence on teaching provision and increased workload pressure for staff in school/college
• The Secretary of State rejected the Union’s call for SATs and league tables to be scrapped, and for a return of regular testing and other mitigations

Child Q

• Regularly in touch with Hackney NEU Branch who are supporting members in the school, who knew nothing about the case, nor the ISB report; most learning that it was their school via social media
• Union engaging with the DFE to urgently update and correct their safeguarding guidelines

White Paper/SEND Green Paper

• Sole focus remains structures/governance with a commitment that all schools to be in a ‘strong trust’ by 2030
• No serious proposals to address the crisis in recruitment and retention of teachers – how to stem the exodus of teachers from the profession (40% leaving within 10 years/a quarter within their first two years) due primarily to workload and lack of agency/professional voice
• White paper mentions ‘workload – where it exists’
• Single most important determinant in pupil outcomes is poverty – both sustained and episodic – on which the WP is silent and which is exacerbated by the Government’s wider policies (cuts to benefits/cuts to CAMHS/nothing to address cost of living crisis)
• Little or nothing on recovery other than an emphasis on individual tutoring – separate welcome removal of Randstad from NTP
• Ken Jones (Head of Education, Equalities and Social Justice) described both Papers as a wasted opportunity for which members would be incredulous rather than inspired

Union’s response – the Government’s flawed case for fully trust-led system

JGSs used part of the Pre-Conference Press Briefing the previous day to release the Union’s damning analysis of the Government’s flawed evidence base published alongside the WP on Monday – widely picked up across the media and infuriating the Secretary of State. The Union’s statistician, Andrew Baisley, had worked on two projects – an analysis of the Government’s evidence and a wider project on Ofsted outcomes.  The DfE responded to argue wrongly that the NEU only featured secondary statistics and then compounded their error by admitting that there was little data for primary because there were very few primary MATs from which they could draw evidence.

The Executive agreed all Strategy Committee reports from the meetings on 5 March (with a small amendment to the SC:MD minutes) and agreed the following urgent decisions:

• agreed proposers/seconders for all Executive motions/amendments
• the following recommendations from the US/BNC working party  
• Hold one further working party meeting to consider supplementary data, identify further examples of best practice, reporting final findings on the key strategic questions to the 7 May US and BNC meetings.
• Finalise VEVE branch development template by Easter and roll out via briefings at Summer Term regional/Wales councils and with dedicated support from regional/Wales officers and organisers, for completion and collaborative review at DBS meeting on 23-24 June.
• Branch development template to include a planning timeline for pay campaign next steps during Summer and Autumn Terms, starting from close of annual conference, including preparation for an indicative national ballot if agreed by annual conference; This next phase of our pay campaign will be launched with a briefing for reps and officers at conference, including a toolkit for each step of activity and for all branch and workplace contexts.
• acknowledging that members are affected by cost increases and a need to meet increasing costs for the Union; agreed an increase to membership subscription rates to 3% for support staff members and 5% for standard and leadership members
• Noted the Finance Report – total income received during the period was £31,607,834 and total expenditure was £25,960,790 creating a surplus of £5,647,044.
• Draft report from the Auditors – small number of outstanding ‘housekeeping issues’
• Funding requests; a donation of £2,000 to the UCU fighting fund; a donation of £250 to the Tolpuddle Radical Film Festival; a donation of £500 towards the sponsorship of the Hazards Conference; and a donation of £37,500 to the EI Ukraine emergency fund
• an Urgent Motion to Annual Conference on Children’s Rights And Police In Schools
• To award the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award to Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, CEO and Founder of Stemettes 
• Some amendments to the layout of the Union’s membership card